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Note: The following post contains no significant advances of the plot or the end of the film.

Sally Potter known for works as The Man Who Cried and Rage directed in 2012 the drama Ginger and Rosa. Since they were born Ginger and Rosa are inseparable, they explore the world together and decide how they want to be based on the behavioral patterns of the adults that surround them, when they get older the girls begin to have different concerns: Rosa seeks the eternal and true love and Ginger is concerned about the world situation and the ongoing threat posed by the nuclear weapons to the continuity of life, this disparity of interests is responsible to cause a rift between the friends that do not seem to get a meeting point in their ideals.

Although the concerns expressed in the story are important and far-reaching, the story itself is simple and understandable. What matters to us in life?, what ideals are capable of separating us?, Why worths fighting for something when we can lose a friendship and even something of morality?, These and other more are some of the topics that touches this film, sometimes is slow you can also consider it a little repetitive, explains a lot an idea that does not require further clarification and with this leaves alone some topics of the plot. However it’s interesting: the history places us in a time when the social anxieties were very different to the current.

The strong point (almost hypnotic) of this film is the genuine Elle Fanning: spectacular performance, the plot waste her talent, she is Ginger in flesh and bone, with her tribulations, joys and disappointments. Really, is a very shocking actress at her young age. Alice Englert in the role of Rosa is convincing but, cause of the script, she doesn’t shine. Alessandro Nivola is another primary character but at the same time, as it happens with Englert, only seem to be there to give life to the role of Fanning, to establish her situation, they are good characters but somewhat underutilized.

A totally remarkable point is the photography, excellent composition and art direction, a worth seeing job. The color contrasts are beautiful, there are unforgettable panoramics and selected locations.

Ginger & Rosa won several awards including the Virtuoso Award for Elle Fanning at the Santa Barbara International Film, Best Actress to Elle Fanning at the Valladolid International Film Festival and the Just Potter Film Award for Sally in Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Zerorojo recommends it to those who enjoy the drama! It’s a film with several outstanding elements and with a good cast.

Note: The following post contains no significant advances of the plot or the end of the film.

As well Zerorojo has been professed from the beginning this blog is not totally dedicated to the latest releases, although it’s obviously better to talk about today, it’s also important to speak of certain films that despite not being recent are true jewels of the cinema, such is the case with The Kids Are All Right a 2010 film by Lisa Cholodenko the director known for projects as Laurel Canyon and other contributions to the television world like her collaboration with the L Word.

The Kids Are All Right tells the story of a unique family structure: Joni and Laser are the sons of Nic and Jules a homosexual marriage that to conform its family resorted to the donation of sperm. Laser was always curious to know the donor and convinces her sister to seek him when she reaches the legal age, there is when they meet Paul a man who lives by instinctive way and that have not purchased greater commitments to anyone, however he will change many of his perceptions when he gets integrated with the kids and their mothers, in the same way, the presence of Paul within the family nucleus will shake substantially the relations among its members.

This is an excellent story not only because it can happen it is also because between scenes is highlighted one aspect of the social reality, the reality of family life and youth. It is soulful, spicy, peaceful and agitated, contains elements worthy of a good plot that look to entertain and make the audience think at the same time. The critical reception was good in its time, that made this film deserved several nominations at the Oscars, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild, in a strange manner only won the Golden Globe for Best Film Musical or Comedy and the Golden Globe for Best Actress with Annette Bening.

While the story is the entry in this film, the performances are the main dish, they are just wonderful, the cast has major names: Annette Bening and Juliane Moore give life to a credible homosexual marriage, nothing is forced and the roles are clearly defined, Bening has the reins of the situation and Moore within her insecurities leaves razing by her partner’s strengths. Mark Ruffalo who executes the role of the donor tints the personality of his character when it’s open to the experience of living a life that never considered his, however the actor before anything interprets that weakness so characteristic of the human: to be seduced, sin and forgive by all at the same time. Last but not least important we have the brothers played by Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson recognized youth talents that they embody perfectly the doubts of the youth, each one playing its role are to the height of the cast…excellent performances.

If you are reading this and have not seen The Kids Are All Right, Zerorojo recommends you to do it , this movie makes a good approach to several levels of relationships that the human being handles: friendship, relationships, brotherhood, and undoubtedly makes a call to see the current styles of life and to have an open mind on the same.

Note: The following post contains no significant advances of the plot or the end of the film.

The directors of Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris bring us an unusual romantic tragicomedy: Ruby Sparks, written by the protagonist Zoe Kazan, shows us the history of Calvin an acclaimed writer, that early gets admission to fame as a result of his first book, the pressure of his success and the abandonment of his girlfriend while he was in mourning for the death of his father leads him to a block that impedes him to write, for that reason his psychologist ask him to do as a task to write about a person that would have no objection to accept him, so Calvin begins to write about a young woman with he dreams about …and then Ruby appears.

This is a colorful story, it develops in Los Angeles and all of its environments are bright and vivid. The locations are designed according to their characters, comparison that we can establish with the apartment of Calvin, the home of his mother or his manager, the people expressed in objects and design. The same thing happen with the costume design and arrangements, although this is more usual.

The characters are the most common of the film: Calvin as geek, Ruby as a crazy bohemia, the mother of Calvin and her husband hippie stereotypes and the brother a hunter moored by a marriage, to mention a few, to be true those are characters that we have seen repeated over and over again in hundreds of films and you can even qualify the interpretations as very normal, not come to be stunning. We can see Paul Dano doing a role very recurrent in him, Kazan has a more emotional character but she does not seduce the spectator. It’s nice to see a diva as Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas in their role of hippies, refreshing point of the script.

So far nothing out of the ordinary, nothing unusual, which is valuable in this film is its argument: an original story that goes beyond normality and reality, a tragic love story by its impossibility and by the absolute position of each protagonist: Calvin dominates the life of Ruby and she in turn the life of Calvin…each one ends up becoming a necessary evil for another.

Zerorojo believes that Ruby Sparks can be seen without hindrance: as aromantic comedy breaks several clichés, as a dramatic film is striking but not depressing and in spite of their stereotyped characters is never boring, being a film about love, it has the ability to please men and women and that is a lot to tell.

The rating for this film remains as open topic: is it good or bad? What do you think?